The Metaphor
by Kittiko-Blues
Summary: Oneshot. Koleniko and Jimmylegs have a brief discussion on love.


**I do not own Koleniko, Jimmylegs, or any of the POTC characters. (c) to Disney.**

The Metaphor

Does love really conquer all? Is it possible to be the cruelest person on Earth and still be able to show compassion in the form of love? Such questions are forbidden to be asked when one is serving on the _Flying Dutchman,_ but it didn't stop Koleniko and Jimmylegs from discussing the matter in the quiet twilight of the morning. Up earlier than most of the crew, sitting in a semi-dark corner of the hold, the Bo'sun and the coxswain pondered the aspects of what it's like to have to carve your heart out because of what love did to you. This was probably the only time they would have to discuss such a subject, lest they try sneaking around the Captain just to whisper to each other.

"There's no point to havin' any regard fer life on 'ere anymore. Ye either do what ye're told or suffer fer bein' naïve," Jimmylegs remarked coldly. "It's a hard thing to deal wi' when ye're an unfortunate soul like most o' this blasted crew."

"That's why ye're the one that cracks the cat," Koleniko said, pointing to the whip at the Bo'sun's side. "Ye keep those unfortunate souls in line."

Jimmylegs scoffed. "It goes right back to the Captain though. He's the one that really keeps everyone in line. I just reinforce it."

"Ye're the only one on 'ere with a hide tough 'nough to do so," Koleniko muttered.

"Ye need to be hard. There's no room fer compassion on 'ere, ne'er has been…"

"Until Jones decided to do some carvin' is when the compassion ceased to exist," Koleniko pointed out, making a cutting motion on his chest.

Jimmylegs scoffed somewhat bitterly. "What man deliberately goes through the trouble to remove his heart b'cause of what a wench did to him? I think someone missed the point of 'metaphorically speaking'," he said.

"I ain't stupid, an' I know yer heart literally don't break when ye're hurtin' frem somethin' the Captain went through, but rippin' yer heart out only enhances the literal meanin' of the metaphor."

Jimmylegs rolled his eyes. The subject of the heart was a complex one on many levels. You either believed the metaphors that love makes you want to rip your heart out, or you didn't. It stuck in the two crewmembers' heads that Davy Jones took the saying to heart more than he should have. What would they know about love though? It didn't matter to them in the least. They knew better than to get tangled with it like Jones did. They were lucky…or so they thought.

Koleniko crossed one leg over the other as he sat, spines flaring and relaxing sporadically. "I always wondered what the Captain's encounter with love was like though."

"Psh," Jimmylegs cringed, unraveling his cat and wringing it in his hands. "There's nothin' to wonder 'bout that. Look where messin' wi' the wench has gotten him. Ye don't want to be as bitter as him."

"Or ye?" Koleniko teased.

"Don't go there," the Bo'sun grumbled.

"How d'ye know if I tried my hand at love I will end up removin' my own heart and lockin' it in a chest an' buryin' it on some deserted island?" Koleniko inquired.

"I don't know," Jimmylegs answered honestly with an aggravated expression. "All I know is I hope I ne'er have to endure what the Captain's been through."

"But I have to ask again: how d'ye know? Have ye ever tried to love before?"

Jimmylegs suddenly fell silent. After years of trying to hide his scorn for life and his contempt at free will, the muscles in his mouth actually formed a frown. "I did," he answered quietly through his scratchy voice. "Leavin' 'er behind was the hardest thing I've ever done, an' I'm not proud of it. That's all water under the bridge now though; I ain't seein' 'er again. I ain't seein' no one again." He clenched his teeth and gripped the whip tightly. "An' what 'bout ye, coxswain? If yer inquirin' mind is so interested in the concept of love, have _ye_ ever been in love? D'ye know what it feels like to have someone one moment an' then lose 'em ferever the next moment?" he asked rather harshly.

"If ye count bein' a young lad wi'out havin' the chance to actually find the one ye love most, then no," Koleniko answered bitterly. The coxswain was no more than a twenty-something when he was press-ganged. Jimmylegs's story was a little more involved though, and Koleniko could see why the Bo'sun was sour about the current subject. "I ain't ever known ye had a girl."

"I _did_," Jimmylegs huffed. "But I told ye, I ain't ever seein' her again. It's been too long. She's probably gone now." The grip on the cat loosened. "Feel lucky ye ain't lost yer heart to any woman. 'Tis a truly painful thing."

Koleniko stood up, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. Jimmylegs was right in a sense. Had he lost the one he loved as a result of being on the Dutchman, he would be just as snide and unseeing to the world as the Bo'sun and the Captain. Koleniko was ignorant to the subject of love for the most part, but he had always hoped that there would be that one for him, and never have to endure the negative aspects of it. It was a very distant reality now, and Koleniko sighed when he realized it would be one hundred years before he would probably see another woman.

The two men stood quietly as dawn reached its peak, the time now for the crew to be getting to their stations, for Jimmylegs to snag his whip on a lolly-gagging slacker, for Koleniko to follow Jones's orders as per his liking. A circular routine it was, never changing, and breaking the cycle would be an impossible task.

Jimmylegs looked soberly at his friend. "That's all I can say on this subject. To cross it is like bringin' my own cat upon my back. Like I said, feel lucky ye haven't lost yer heart fer all eternity." The Bo'sun disappeared up the steps and to the deck.

Koleniko followed, but kept rewinding Jimmylegs's words over in his head. Maybe he was right. "Maybe I am lucky," he mumbled, closing the door to down below. He stored the subject to the depths of his subconscious and lost himself in his work once more. It would be a long while before the topic of love resurfaced once more on the _Flying Dutchman._

POTC: © to Disney


End file.
